I’m The One – Dj Khaled (Song Review)

Like cotton candy.

Off the back of his newborn baby, DJ Khaled has released a second single titled I’m The One, featuring Justin Bieber, Quavo, Chance the Rapper and Lil Wayne. You can feel Khaled riding the wave of joy in this bubbly record, and I love it. I can’t say I think this track has much going for it in the long-term, but it fits in nicely with the recent success of Big Baby D.R.A.M and Lil Yachty who also thrive off being carefree and happy.

I’m The One screams sweetness. It’s candy-pink positivity is its main selling point, and I think it nails it pretty well. Sunny and ridiculously catchy, it makes you feel good. It’s driven largely by a two bar percussive bass hook that’s simple, but grabs your attention from the get go along with the help of Bieber’s performance on the hook. His tone is crisp and clean, and is soft vocal style fits nicely with the track’s feel. Neither of these aspects are particularly groundbreaking, but they do the job nicely, and you can’t help but bounce as soon as the track begins.

The rest of the song is relatively barebones. I don’t think it’s strictly bad, but there’s just not a lot to it. The lyrics don’t have much to them, with the artists talking about being the only ones for the girls in their life, and the three guest verses provide pretty forgettable performances all round. They get the job done, but don’t give you anything long-lasting to chew on, which I guess is the right decision for a track that’s gearing itself towards being a feel-good anthem. The same can be said for the instrumental, which essentially doesn’t change for the duration of the track. Again, I guess that’s the kind of thing you come to expect from pop anthems like this.

This single is like cotton candy. A sweet sugary hit that doesn’t try to be anything more. There may not be any sophisticated, long-term depth to this track, but I think it achieves the relatively low bar that it sets itself with ease.